"Ms. Big Expedition and Ms. Big Wall"
"These are not established sports nicknames for Kitty and Lynn. They are names I created that seem to fit their respective careers as two of this country's outstanding climbers. A native of South Carolina, Kitty began climbing at 18 and was soon hooked on ice walls. Her first big climb was in Peru. There followed Dhualagiri and West Pillar of Makalu. Other major expeditions include Denali, Middle Triple Peak in Alaska, Diamond Couloir of Mt. Kenya and El Cap's Salathe Wall. Kitty has been involved in Chicks with Picks, the American Alpine Club, and Castleton Tower Preservation Initiative.

Let's start with some of Lynn's major achievements. She was the first woman to do a 5.14, first free ascent of El Cap and a free free of El Cap's Nose Route in one day. Lynn began climbing at age 14 at Joshua Tree and two years later was in Yosemite. A superstar in competition climbing, Lynn hoped to compete with Catherine Destiville, the French great, in that country. But, Catherine was a no show, Lynn won and later beat Destiville in the Arco competition.

Now, have I made my case that Kitty deserves the title of Ms. Big Expedition and Lynn as Ms. Big Wall?" - John Martin Meek, 1995

Interviewed by John Martin Meek on Dec. 2, 1995, at the annual AAC meeting.


This movie is part of the collection: Sports Videos

Director: John Martin Meek
Producer: John Martin Meek
Audio/Visual: sound, color
Keywords: Kitty Calhoun Grissom; Denali; American Alpine Club; Lynn Hill; Dhualagiri; El Cap; Rock Climbing, Big Wall Climbing: John Meek; Interview
Contact Information: American Alpine Club Library library@americanalpineclub.org 303-384-0112

Creative Commons license: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States

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